State CIO to leave in June

Keith Jones, the State Department’s chief information officer, is heading back to the private sector.

Jones confirmed to Federal News Network that his last day is June 17, but didn’t say where in the private sector he was heading.

Glenn Miller, the principal deputy CIO, will become acting CIO until State names a new executive, an agency spokesman confirmed.

Jones is retiring after 38 years of federal service, including the last 16 months as the State Department’s CIO. He also worked for the Department of Homeland Security for 15 years in technology leadership roles at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement directorates.

Jones also worked in the private sector after leaving DHS in 2018 for Deepwater Point Consulting and for his own firm, The Edgewater Group.

During his time at State, Jones focused on State’s IT modernization efforts, including cloud computing, mobile computing, improved service delivery of technology and initiatives to enhance cybersecurity.

One area of focus for Jones was to create a standard platform for DevSecOps to give the mission areas the tools and skills to develop applications and address the “shadow IT” challenge nearly every CIO faces.

Miller has been at State since 1991 when he joined the Foreign Service. He has been principal deputy CIO since August 2021. In that role, he manages all IT operations, including cyber operations, business management and planning, operations and foreign operations.

Previously, he served as deputy CIO for both operations and foreign operations.

State’s IT budget in fiscal 2022 is $2.8 billion with 41 major investments.

With Jones’ departure, State now will have its fourth new CIO in five years. Jones was the CIO for 16 months, while before him Stuart McGuigan last two years, and before him State had an acting CIO since Frontis Wiggins left in 2017 to 2019.